January 23, 2014

The Cool Kids: We can sell more, to better cut of client by not trying to be one

The Cool Kids are everywhere. That's even though some experts on cool speculate that the term "cool" is giving way to "delightful." However, the reality is, just as in high school, the Cool Kids represent a very small group. They are a minority who suck up an amazing amount of attention. So?

Most of us professionals can make a good living, along with acquiring a positive repuation, without being officially or unofficially designated a Cool Kid. What I have found has been the less my marketing approach mirrors cool the more effective it is in attracting browsers who become buyers.

Cool is a strange entity. Although magnetic in bringing to it what it wants it turns out to be a turn-off to prospects and clients. They don't want cool. They want a vendor who will listen. Who seems willing to go the distance to serve them. Who is not preoccupied with their own impression management.

Think about it: When is the last time you purchased something from a cool salesperson? I bought my new car at an East Haven, Connecticut dealership because from the get-go, the salesperson focused on me. During the initial phone contact, he asked leading questions. That helped me sort out what I needed, which turned out to be different from what I thought I wanted. He offered to pick me up the next morning since I didn't know where the dealership was. Once there, he gave me time to consider this and to consider that. He was a plodder, not cool. And he got my sale.

Warning: The Cool Kid meme is so embedded in our culture that we could default into it. About 10 days ago I traveled a good distance to pitch to a prospect here in Connecticut. The owner was about 27. The video producer was probably a year out of school. A switch inside me turned on cool or what I assumed how it would play. As yet I haven't gotten a follow-up contact that the startup chose me as a vendor.